Your day trip to the S.S. Yongala wreck begins on arrival at our premises at Alva Beach. Whilst setting up your dive gear feel free to help yourself to tea, coffee and biscuits and mingle with your dive buddies. Then we’ll take you on a ‘unique’ day trip as we 4WD to the beach where we launch the Yongala Express for our trip to the S.S. Yongala.

A short boat ride of approximately 30 minutes brings us to the wreck in no time and straight in for our first dive. We don’t put any restrictions on your dive times either so enjoy and have fun!

Fresh fruit, cake, cordial and water will be provided during our one hour surface interval, when we often catch turtles sun-baking on the surface.  Then it’s back into the water for our final dive before heading back to Alva Beach where you can shower, change and enjoy a wonderful Aussie BBQ whilst discussing your awesome dive experiences with your new found friends.

What diving experience is required?

An open water certification and 6 logged dives with deep dive training is our minimum requirement for this dive (see below). The Yongala is an intermediate dive site and it is recommended that divers should be comfortable in conditions which can sometimes be challenging.

Novice divers (those with less than 20 dives) should ensure they have refreshed their skills within the last six months and will be provided with a dive guide (if adventure or advanced certified) or required to upgrade to the PADI ‘Deep’ Adventure dive (if open water) to advance their skills to the required level and to ensure a safe and memorable experience.

The more experienced divers can choose to dive with a buddy or take a guided tour at no extra cost.

What are the conditions like?

Almost constant sunshine and temperatures averaging around 31°C in the summer and 25°C in the winter (can cool to around 14°C in the evening) combine to make this area a great destination at all times of the year. Humidity is about 70% throughout the year with the highest rainfall coming from end of January and February.

The lovely warm waters of tropical Northern Queensland vary from around 26-31°C in the summer to 22-25°C in the winter, means diving is possible all year around.    Lookout for the whales during the winter months (june to sept) while manta rays also make frequent appearances during june to december. 

Due to the location of the wreck we will be moored in open water and surface conditions can sometimes be choppy and moderate currents may be experienced. If you suffer from seasickness please take appropriate medication before departure.

What time do we meet?

Check in at Yongala Dive - if making own way

What time do we get picked up?